When paving highways with asphaltic mix, it is desirable to provide a storage system for the mix as near as possible to the construction site to enhance accessibility and efficiency. To meet this objective, storage systems of various configurations have been proposed. These storage systems include an elongate, generally upright storage and dispensing container which stores and thereafter dispenses the asphaltic mix when required. The storage systems also include an upwardly inclined conveying apparatus for conveying asphaltic mix from substantially ground-level up to the top of the storage container to fill the storage container with asphaltic mix and to replenish the supply in the storage container as needed.
Heretofore, these conveying apparatus provide a hopper for receipt of the asphaltic mix substantially at ground-level and a discharge chute for depositing the asphaltic mix in the storage container at the other end of the conveying apparatus. A drag-type conveyor extends between the hopper and the discharge chute and generally includes a chain conveyor having spaced apart flights or blades carried thereby which are perpendicular to the lower wall of the housing and thus act to drag the asphaltic mix upwardly within the housing between the hopper and the discharge chute.
Such previous conveying apparatus, while generally successful, have certain disadvantages and deficiencies. Typical among such disadvantages and deficiencies is the propensity for the conveying blades or flights to carry asphaltic mix on the forward faces of the blades past the discharge chute and around the sprocket mounting the upper end of the conveyor chain. Such carryover asphaltic mix then falls downwardly into the sprocket or onto the chain supporting idler rollers which result in the sprocket or rollers becoming fouled with asphaltic mix. Such fouling of the sprocket and/or rollers results in increased wear, lower efficiency, and early replacement of these parts of the conveying apparatus due to the increased wear.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an asphaltic storage system having an improved conveying apparatus which overcomes the problems and deficiencies of previous asphaltic storage systems.
It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide an improved conveying apparatus for an asphaltic storage system which overcomes the problem of asphaltic mix carryover.